Jaguar XJ Sentinel: Armoured Barge Revealed
Jag reveals the car for those being hunted by 'them'
It's the news that all the anglophile Russian oligarchs out there (and we know there are plenty of those on PH) have been waiting for - Jaguar is set to launch an armoured version of the new Jaguar XJ at the Moscow motor show.
Called the XJ Sentinel, the armoured XJ is based on the long-wheelbase XJ, whose aluminium structure allows it what Jaguar terms a 'very generous' payload of 500kg - despite the armour protection taking the vehicle's weight up to a distinctly beefy 3.3 tons.
Although the XJ Sentinel can be serviced using regular Jaguar dealer equipment, it has been thoroughly adapted to suit its intended security role.
The armoured inner cell - which Jaguar says is virtually undetectable from the outside - is made from high-strength steels with a Kevlar backing and can stand a 15kg TNT blast at close range, while the underside has 'substantial' under-floor grenade protection.
"The XJ Sentinel is the ultimate armoured luxury limousine," says Jaguar MD Mike O'Driscoll. "It offers governments, security organisations and private individuals, the highest level of security, with advanced design, refined performance and a beautifully-crafted cabin. The XJ Sentinel will be the vehicle of choice for the most discerning."
Jaguar's 'discerning' clientele also get treated to a chassis whose suspension has been uprated to cope with the extra weight, and whose brakes are sourced from the 503bhp supercharged non-armoured car.
It's a shame that the Sentinel doesn't get the supercharged motor, however. The 380bhp 5.0-litre V8 makes the ordinary XJ no slouch, but with potentially more than three-and-a-half tons to lug about, its performance is dragged down to a 9.7sec 0-62mph sprint and a 122mph top speed - surely you'd need more than that to escape the hijackers?
XJ Sentinel Specifications
| ENGINE | 5.0-litre V8 Petrol AJ-V8 GEN III | |
| Maximum power Maximum torque Transmission |
EEC-PS(kW) EEC-Nm (lb ft) |
385 (283) 515 (380) 6-speed automatic |
| PERFORMANCE Acceleration Top Speed |
0-100km/h – sec km/h |
9.7 195 |
| WEIGHT Weight Gross vehicle weight |
kg kg |
3,300 3,800 |
| DRIVING DYNAMICS Up-rated suspension with active dampers front and rear Jaguar High Performance Braking System Strengthened 19" Aleutian Alloy Wheels with 245/45 19" Dunlop Self Supporting Technology® Run on Flat tyres (RoF) |
||
| PERSONALISATION An extensive range of exterior paint colours, interior colours themes and optional equipment is available. |
||
not much reported on it but I imagine he was in somethign "luxury"
At least they have done their market research and have relaised that the majority of the client base will come from ex-KGB and the russian mafia, and no doubt be given as presents to Presidents of Russian friendly countries such as Iran etc etc
"As President Shevardnadze's cortege sped east along the river that runs in the capital Tbilisi, a rocket-propelled grenade slammed into the front of his armoured-plated Mercedes. Then a second, then a third, as it slewed out of control.
The ensuing gun battle lasted 10 minutes. It was the second attempt on his life in little more than two years.
He has little doubt where both attacks were planned."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/despatches/64267.stm
Since I am not (currently) a dictator or mobster (didn't get those options in careers advice at school), guess I need to think about how bad road rage is likely to become over the next couple of years to decide whether S-Guard is essential or not.
8 police motorcyle outriders to stop the traffic. Two regular police car 5 series bmws up front. One blackened windows range rover up behind them. Two lwb jags. One more blackened window range rover, one more 5 series regular cop car behind. Favourite touch? The last bmw had a flashing sign in the rear window with a simple instruction "Do not overtake". Given that they were running at about 90mph in Central London I could not imagine that anyone would fancy overtaking....
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8 police motorcyle outriders to stop the traffic. Two regular police car 5 series bmws up front. One blackened windows range rover up behind them. Two lwb jags. One more blackened window range rover, one more 5 series regular cop car behind. Favourite touch? The last bmw had a flashing sign in the rear window with a simple instruction "Do not overtake". Given that they were running at about 90mph in Central London I could not imagine that anyone would fancy overtaking....

Which is about half the size of Obama's motorcade that I saw exiting London on the A12 last year, which was complete with US communications signal jammer vehicle, UK cops, US cops, US Security forces and EVERYONE was pulled over and stopped, even though we were on a 3 lane highway and going in the same direction as him. The UK outriders were herding cars into groups about 20 cars long, into lanes 1 and 2. They overalapped so that traffic was stopped a good minute or two before he went by. Thats assuming that was HIS motorcade and a not one of the decoys.

In those sorts of situations, surely you would want to pull away quickly..
0-60 in 9.7 seconds? Most cars on the road will probably be able to keep up with it!
I still think the old-shape (W140) S Class Armoured had the most presence for this sort of a role.
Also - Mexico would be a good market for this car, as there are alot of kidnappings and attempts on the wealthy over there....
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